Meneley Elementary School students in the cafeteria under the message: “We are Safe, Respectful, and Responsible,” the districtwide model taught through Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports.
Photo special to The R-C
Whether it’s playing games like galaxy ball, sipping shamrock shakes, hearing favorite music during lunch, or spending behavior tickets and points, the message across the Douglas County School District is that positive choices matter and are rewarded.
Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports has become a key part how schools across the Douglas County School District model safe, respectful, and responsible choices and Meneley Elementary School has been leading the way since the district’s very first school cohort.
“Our goal is to create a safe and respectful learning environment, that’s the bottom line,” said Meneley Elementary School Principal Blaine Spires. “We treat behavior like any other subject; we teach it just like math or reading.”
The framework was officially adopted in DCSD during the 2015-2016 school year starting with Meneley, Gardnerville, Scarselli, and Zephyr Cove elementary schools, and Carson Valley Middle School. The program was launched in partnership with the University of Nevada, Reno’s, PBIS Technical Assistance Center, which continues to provide coaching, training, and technical support for the district.
The program is built on three tiers of support. Tier 1 involves teaching and reinforcing schoolwide expectations for all students.
“At Meneley, this includes regular announcements, relationship-building activities, and a clearly defined behavior matrix outlining what it means to be safe, respectful, and responsible in every area of campus — from the classroom to the cafeteria,” said Spires. “These expectations are reviewed at the start of the year through reboot assemblies and modeled by staff to set a consistent tone.”
Tier 2 provides targeted support for students who need more guidance. This might include check-ins, mentoring, or small group time with the school counselor to talk through choices and build friendship skills.
“Staff use a digital system called SWIS to log and monitor behavior data in real time and office discipline referrals are categorized by location, time of day, grade level, and type of behavior, allowing the school to identify trends and respond quickly,” said Spires.
For students with the highest needs, Tier 3 interventions offer individualized support and coordination with families and service providers.
Spires said a multi-tiered system of support team meets monthly to review the data and determine schoolwide focus areas.
“We use data to drive our decisions,” said Spires. “If we notice a pattern — say, disrespect showing up more in referrals — we respond as a school. That might mean a weeklong focus on respect with morning announcements, class meetings, and extra opportunities to earn recognition for positive behavior.”
At Meneley, students are rewarded in fun and meaningful ways such as; positive office referrals, behavior tickets which they can “cash” for other rewards, swim center passes, music at lunch celebrations, and more.
Spires said the goal is to use data and not assumptions to guide decisions and ensure all students are getting the support they need and the goal throughout all three tiers is to proactively build positive behavior and address challenges before they escalate.
“Students know that meeting expectations leads to recognition and connection, and we want to reward kids for doing what is expected,” said Spires. “It’s about helping students become their best selves, so that they can engage in learning.”
Visit the Douglas County School District website article by Director of Marketing and Communications Hailey Sebahar, “PBIS Helps Students Stay Motivated and Connected at PWL & MES” for more information and to learn how other schools implement Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports.